Category: Shifters, Weres

A Paul B Review: Warrior Wolf and His Little Lamb (Pariah Pack #3) by Susan Laine

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

warrior-wolf-and-his-little-lamb-by-susan-laineRhys Gunner has been away from his werewolf pack for some time.  Having recently returned from the military, he is given the task from his alpha Max to find new hunting ground for their expanding pack of misfit shifters.  With new pups and mates along with outcasts from other groups joining, they need to expand their territory.  He stops at Sheppard farm, run but a family of sheep shifters.  If nothing else, Rhys can satisfy his sweet tooth at the bakery the Sheppard family runs.  The patriarch of the Sheppard family comes in to talk to his wife who is working the bakery.  Rhys smells the scent of his mate not coming from Louis but from a handkerchief that he is carrying.  Louis tells Rhys that it belongs to his son.  Rhys takes off in search of his mate.  He finds him in bed—with a woman.

Heath’s introduction to his mate could not have gone worse.  In storms this giant of a man while he is fooling around with his girlfriend.  Not happy with the interruption, Heath is further dismayed when he figures out his mate is not only male but a wolf shifter.  How are a ram and wolf supposed to be mates?  And to make matters worse, his girlfriend is getting a crash course of shifters and mating.  Heath initially rejects Rhys’s advances but Rhys is determined to win over his “little lamb.”  Things become even more complicated when Max demands that Rhys tell the Sheppards that their farm is now part of the werewolf pack lands due to an ancient werewolf law dealing with the property of their mates.  While Rhys does not want to go against his alpha, he also doesn’t want to push Heath away just as he is starting to win him over.  Rhys decides it may come down to his mate or his pack. 

While I have enjoyed Susan Laine’s books in the past, I did not enjoy this one quite as much as her other books that I have read.  I think the major problem I had with the book was all the puns using the wolf and sheep motif that are probably used to bring some humor to the book.  While using them in moderation is fine, it seemed to me that I was hit over the head with them.  Another point that bothered me was the Scooby Doo like ending where the wise old owl mediator solves the problem with Max’s recent behavior.  On a side note, this is the third book in the Pariah Pack series but the first one I have read.  So the point of Max’s behavior not being normal was sort of lost on me.  Having someone say a secondary character in a book is acting strangely is one thing but having read the backstory in a previous book would have helped me connect why Max’s behavior was inconsistent with his past actions.  While I have a couple of misgivings about this book, I would be willing to read others in the series.

The cover art by Harris Channing is a decent cover for the book.  It has out two protagonists on the top half of the cover while a lone wolf is amongst a sheep herd on the bottom half. 

Sales Links

Siren Publishing/Bookstrand

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Book Details

EBook, 110 pages

Edition Language:  English

Published:  March 24, 2016 by Siren Publishing

ISBN:   978-1-68295-134-7

Series:  Pariah Pack

A Caryn Review: Wild Rose, Silent Snow by Angel Martinez

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

wild-rose-silent-snowYay, another retold fairy tale from one of my favorite authors!  It was great to review Boots a few weeks ago, so I was looking forward to this one, and I have to say, I liked it even better.  I hope Ms. Martinez writes more adapted fairy tales (please!)

This book is a retelling of the Grimm brother’s Snow White and Rose Red.  Nothing like the Disney version of Snow White, thank goodness!  This time I googled the original story before I read this version, and once again I really enjoyed how she was able to take the best elements of the original, twist them around and flesh them out, and place them into a contemporary setting.  One of my favorite parts of this story was how she was able to place the forest – that place of magic and mystery so prevalent in Grimm’s fairy tales – in a place where it just fit.  This time, in rural Minnesota in the dead of winter.

Rowan Hadley is the main protagonist of the story.  He lives with his twin brother Snowden in their deceased parent’s house on an isolated island in a large lake.  Rowan and Snowden are barely scraping by, after their parents died and their inheritance got tied up in probate and lawsuits.  Both men are disabled in some way – Snowden has very limited speech but Rowan’s disability is not revealed until a good ways into the book – that makes them unable to pursue regular jobs, so they subsist on hunting, fishing, and working odd jobs during the summer.  Winter for them is much like it must have been to the original Snow White and Rose Red – a time of dark, and cold, and danger, and privation.  The brothers are very close, dependent upon each other, but they stick together out of love more than need.

When a bear appears on the island, the brothers are only mildly concerned, expecting it to wander away.  Then Rowan runs right into the bear, and immediately notices that this is not an average bear, especially when it follows him home.  Eventually the bear is in their house, and Rowan finds himself attached to him not just like human and pet, but in a way that feels different, but strangely right.  When the bear does not show up as usual one night, Rowan goes out looking for him but instead finds a gorgeous bear of a man naked in the snow.  And Rowan brings him home as well.  And thus begins their journey – Rowan, Snowden, and the bear – to discover and break the curse and rescue not only this bear, but another man who got caught up in the curse (because after all, Snowden needs to have a man to fall in love with too!)

The way the author brought magic into our world was more subtle, and therefore easier to accept, than the way she did it in Boots.  There was even a little bit of Beauty and the Beast here, with Cade being cursed into a bear due to his out of control temper, and although becoming a better man wasn’t the way to break the curse, he wouldn’t have been able to do so without earning and accepting the trust and assistance of Rowan and Snowden.  Cade was the character than changed and grew, while Rowan and Snowden remained the staunchly good and decent human beings that inspire those around them to be better people.  I was able to fall in love with all of them, and that’s what made me enjoy the book so much.  There was just the right amount of danger and conflict to make it exciting, but I just wanted to jump in there hug all three of these men!

Now I just need to read more of these, and Ms. Martinez does them so well!  I hope she has more in the works, and if so, I’ll be first in line to read them…

Cover art is by Posh Gosh, and once again is perfect for the story.

Sales Links

Pride Publishing

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Book Details:

ebook
Published November 29th 2016 (first published November 18th 2012)
ISBN139781786515001
Edition LanguageEnglish

An Alisa Review: Russian Blau (Dragons Schooled #1) by Emily Carrington

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

russian-blauIce dragon Blau Lepa seeks nothing more or less than to be a professor at SearchLight Academy. He’s wanted to teach his whole life, and considers it a sacred calling. When he meets Professor Rob Boyle, he’s instantly attracted. But both he and Rob are convinced that teachers and students shouldn’t have sex, not to mention that Blau’s afraid to bond with a human who will pass away so quickly.

 

On top of his scruples, Rob’s suffering from a broken heart. Eventually he gives in to his attraction and finds being dominated by Blau fills him with soaring desires and heals his wounded heart. But is that enough to make him decide to throw away his humanity and accept magical powers so that he can spend all eternity with his lover?

 

Blau is in his last semester of school with Charlie, Rob’s former lover and friend, as his advisor.  Rob and Blau have an immediate attraction, but don’t act upon anything until they are manipulated together by Charlie.  Once they both let their walls down they can work on their connection to each other.

 

We get to see both characters’ points of view which helps as they both have their own struggles in this story.  I felt Rob’s getting over his heartbreak from Charlie was quickly resolved and just kinda done instead of work through.  Blau’s biggest fear is loving someone who isn’t immortal and he would have to watch them die.  I felt that there were some back stories in this that I was missing regarding Charlie and Rob’s former dragon student (it looks like this series references characters from some of the author’s previous series) which would have help some of my confusion at points, but for the most part I liked the story.

 

Cover art by Fiona Jayde is a sweet picture of Blau and Rob.

 

Sales Links: Loose Id | Amazon | ARe

 

Book Details:

ebook, 68 pages

Published: October 24, 2016 by Loose Id

ISBN: 9781682522325

Edition Language: English

Series: Dragons Schooled #1

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Forbidden Mate (Holland Brothers #4) by Toni Griffin and Dominic M. McCartney (Narrator)

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

forbidden-mate-audio-jpg_origFinding his mate should have been Patrick Holland’s greatest day, instead it turned into a nightmare with one phone call. His mate didn’t want him. His heart broke, but at sixteen he was too young to do anything. The next ten years—ten long years— of Patrick’s life are spent at odds with his mate. Split by forces he can’t comprehend and a long line of misunderstandings, Patrick doubts he’ll ever get the man he’s both loved and hated.

 

Jake Richmond never expected to come home from Uni to find the youngest Holland brother was his mate. Knowing the news might uplift his still grieving father, Jake shares the news only to have his young mate threatened. Jake does the only thing he can think of, protect Patrick. The next ten years are nothing but torture for Jake as he watches his mate grow into a remarkable young man.

They say time heals all wounds, but how much time?

 

This is a wonderful addition to the Holland Brothers series.  Throughout the other books in the series I could tell there was something about Jake and Patrick, but didn’t know for sure.  Patrick and Jake have known each other forever and when they learn they are mates they are ecstatic, but Jake pushes Patrick away to protect him causing them both years of pain.

 

Jake has been watching over his mate from afar for years, hurting himself knowing he was hurting Patrick.  Both of them have reached their limit, Patrick can’t take his heart breaking over and over anymore and Jake decides to deal with his father and see if he has any chance for a future with his mate.  This story is heartbreaking to watch these two danced around each other, but still keeping everything a secret.  It’s a bit hard for me to believe the brothers never noticed anything, but I still loved this story.

 

Dominic M. McCartney did a wonderful job narrating this story.  I was able to understand the characters through the voices and emotions he portrayed.  The voices didn’t quite match what I had thought of for the characters, but it didn’t hurt the storytelling.  Even though this is a book I have read it felt new to me listening to him tell it.

 

Cover art looks great and follows the pattern for the series.

 

Sales Links: Mischief Corner Books | Audible | Amazon | iTunes

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 7 hrs 50 min
Published: October 21, 2016 (ebook, 2nd edition, published February 5, 2014) by MCB
Edition Language: English

Series: The Holland Brothers #4

A MelanieM Review: Elemental Ride by Mell Eight

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

elemental-rideRawley isn’t the type to crush hard and fast on anyone, but he’s somehow helpless when it comes to the new mailman. Even his bikes and his job as enforcer for a local motorcycle gang, the center of his world, don’t compare to his interest in Reign. Unfortunately, Reign doesn’t seem to be as interested—but secrets and magic have a way of turning everything upside down.

Elemental Ride is a short story by Mell Eight in the Roughhouse Riders series (written by different authors) by LT3 Press. Many of the things I liked about it can’t really be discussed here as they fall into spoiler territory and take away the aha moments the author has in store for the readers.

Lets just say its a  neat idea and I can’t say that I’ve seen it in another story before, at least handled in this manner.  Its both a strength of Elemental Ride and one place where the story falls a little short.  Short as in length.   For such a complicated aspect to this plot line (and trust me, this is Mell Eight’s typical weird, twisted little world), this story needed to be far longer than 65 pages.

I liked Rawley. I got a real sense of the man, his place but not his gang.  Since motorcycles clubs, it is their series after all, are his family, they should play a huge part of this, and I never got that really.  I needed more background here.  Perhaps there’s another book I’m missing.

There is romance but it is not the focus but the mysteries that the author is  playing with that are the key here.  So when the romance/love does occur, the connection you have with it isn’t as strong as it might have been, at least in my opinion.  Again, had this story been enlarged to the degree that all the elements had the layers they deserve and the time for the author to enrich them with dimension, more scenes, and way more dialog, then I believe this would be not only a superb story but one that showcases this author’s amazing imagination just as it deserves to be.

I enjoyed Elemental Ride, but I was always aware that it could have been so much more.

Cover art by Natasha Snow is hot and works for the story.  Loved it.

Sales Links

Less Than Three Press

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Book Details:

ebook, 65 pages
Published November 8th 2016 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781620048863
Edition LanguageEnglish

NineStar Press’s 1st Anniversary! Come Celebrate with Us! (giveaway)

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WWW.NineStarPress.com

It’s our first anniversary.

Thanks to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for hosting us today!

Don’t forget to comment here, on our Facebook posts, and our Tweets. We will be giving books away each day to commenters.

 

You will also be added to the drawing for a FREE year of books.

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I have been muddling this over for quite some time, and today I thought I’d take the time to put it into words.

This year has had so many things to celebrate, and so many others to mourn.

We opened our doors on November 23, 2015, by releasing our first two books. At the time, I was an editor for NineStar, but I had dreams of making it my home. I wanted to see more books by unknown authors, about subjects I hadn’t seen before with characters I felt strongly about.

So, we released books, and things were looking pretty good. In the first part of 2016, the owner asked me to step in for her because she was under the weather. Then in May, she decided to sell the company, which is how I became the owner. A time to celebrate and a time to mourn! I was getting my dream, but it came at the cost of someone losing theirs.

I worked to make NineStar something I could be proud of. I listened to the community and saw the upheavals and anger over bi-erasure and casual racism and so many other offensive things. It was a time to mourn the loss of the togetherness I once felt.

We have to stop and listen to the hurt some books cause. Take it to heart. People are saying they are hurt, and if we ever want to fight what’s coming, we have to stand up for others in our community and celebrate the similarities and differences in the LGBTQIA+ community.

We have a lot to mourn right now. We have a lot to fear. The things taking place in the US government are scary as hell. I still mourn every day. I still panic over it. But I also see more people talking about how to make a difference. How to fight back. So while it may be a while before we can celebrate our wins, we can fight.

But we need to listen to others and become a better community. When someone says they are hurt, listen to their hurt. Please don’t tell them to be nicer about expressing their anger and hurt and frustration. These are real people with real hurt. Ask questions, research, understand why they are hurt. Do something about it. Stand together, even if it means losing a trope or having to change some opinions. I have seen this community do some amazing things, but what’s coming will be our biggest challenge yet. And I may be misguided, but I believe we can better fight this if we do it as a community rather than fractured pieces.

The lives of the people we celebrate in books may be changed forever, and it’s time to stand for those lives in the real world.

Raevyn ❤

NineStar Press

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Release Blitz and Giveaway for Sue Brown’s Alpha Barman

Alpha Barman – Sue Brown

Author: Sue Brown
 
Release Date: November 24
 
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh
 
Length: 48,000 words
 
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | AllRomance | KOBO | B&N | iTunes
 

Blurb

Jake Tyler walked out of Special Ops two years ago, a devastated, broken man after he discovered his sister brutally murdered by her husband, Riley. Since then he’s found a kind of peace running a rural bar. The last thing Jake Tyler expects is his former team to turn up with grim news. Jake’s ex-brother-in-law has escaped from prison and is heading Jake’s way. The team is here to protect Jake, whether he likes it or not – a decision reluctantly shared by their leader, Jake’s ex-lover Mitch Mitchelson.

Mitch is angry and hurting. The man he trusted – the man he adored more than anything – abandoned both his team and Mitch. Jake never gave Mitch a chance to help or come to terms with his desertion. Regardless of mission protocols, Mitch isn’t about to open his heart again to that kind of pain.

But the strong attraction between them can’t be denied. How are they ever going to work together when Mitch still resents Jake’s disappearance, and to Jake, the team represents everything that destroyed him in the first place? And meantime they wait for Riley to find them… and to settle the threat once and for all.

Author Bio

Sue Brown is owned by her dog and two children. When she isn’t following their orders, she can be found plotting at her laptop. In fact she hides so she can plot, and has become an expert at ignoring the orders.

Sue discovered M/M erotica at the time she woke up to find two men kissing on her favorite television series. She had an Aha moment and put pen to paper that same day. Sue may be late to the party, but she’s made up for it since, writing fan fiction until she was brave enough to venture out into the world of original fiction.

Come over and talk to Sue at:
sue@suebrownstories.com
Her website can be found at:
http://www.suebrownstories.com/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/suebrownstories
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/suebrownstories
Blog:
http://suebrownsstories.blogspot.com/

 

 

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